Five years ago, we banded together as an interdisciplinary team of business leaders, architects and innovators to launch TAKTL, the United States’ first Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) manufacturing company that specializes in durable, versatile, and visually compelling architectural facade panels and architectural elements.

Today, TAKTL is 120 people and an international leader in the market for UHPC panels, and our products can be seen on high-profile projects all over the Americas: the National Museum of African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian Institution, San Benito County Superior Courthouse in Hollister, CA, University of Alaska Engineering & Industry Building in Anchorage, AK, Washington University Medical Center in St. Louis, MO and numerous museums, universities, hotels and mixed-use buildings.

The enthusiasm and increasing demand for TAKTL from both architects and building owners has driven our need to expand into a 140,000 square-foot factory, and to create a 45,000 square-foot R&D facility. Our state-of-the-art campus, developed in collaboration with the Regional Industrial Development Corporation (RIDC), also includes plans for a new office building in 2016.

Located at the former Westinghouse plant in Turtle Creek, PA, approximately 12 miles west of downtown Pittsburgh, our new plant includes an automated, custom-designed UHPC casting line, with seven times the current capacity, together with energy-efficient, climate-controlled curing rooms, and CNC post-processing equipment all under one roof. This will give us the ability to react more quickly to project timelines and requirements.

A parallel investment in advanced information technologies and experienced project management, architectural, engineering, and detailing talent will expand TAKTL’s support team and enhance our ability to create an effective interface between client needs, design requirements, and manufacturing execution.

With Pittsburgh’s historic positioning as an international hub for industry and innovation, it’s no surprise that TAKTL has emerged as a center for research, technology and manufacturing. The increased demand for Ultra High Performance Concrete products has the company thinking that regional manufacturing centers are the next step in their growth and meeting the needs of the market.